Zverism

Cover image for the Zverism word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Zverism

n.
the wish that people could suspend their civility and indulge the physical side of each other first—sniffing each other’s hair like dogs, staring unabashedly at interesting faces, reveling in a beautiful voice like a song on the radio.

Lithuanian žvėris, wild beast + Latin vērissimus, the truest, the realest. Pronounced “zvair-iz-uhm.”

Aimonomia

close-up of a plant with lights glowing in background

Thwit

close-up of a person with forehead wrinkled and holding their head

The Whipgraft Delusion

Cover image for the The Whipgraft Delusion word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Catoptric Tristesse

Cover image for the Catoptric Tristesse word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Blinkback

a wall full of pictures and objects

Ecstatic Shock

Cover image for the Ecstatic Shock word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Evertheless

a person floating in water

Karanoia

a neat stack of white paper

Kuebiko

Cover image for the Kuebiko word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Heartworm

Cover image for the Heartworm word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Keep

Cover image for the Keep word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Ironsick

a group of random devices